PICTURE THIS: A Near Slip at Sikkema Jenkins & Co.

At the advice of a gallery owner on our Thursday night art haunts, AF decided to drop in at Sikkema Jenkins & Co. on West 22nd Street in Chelsea. We entered two distinct worlds in one space. At the front were clay-based sculptures by Arlene Shechet for her show Slip while at the back were minimalism based paintings with a great Op Art wall by Terry Haggerty for the show, The Nearness of Objects. The verdant sculpture garden out front had the art crowd swimming around the works reminiscent of twisted sea corals, fantastical structures or organic forms set high on pedestals. Lines streaked perfectly at the back where framed works played with your perception and the full wall installation made it warp or bend but all was just an art illusion. It was really by the recommendation of a gallerist slumming on art night that we ended up enjoying both shows. So we’re glad that we didn’t give these the slip which nearly could have been a missed art opportunity.

Yes it is amazing but can we live with itOp Art of Terry Haggerty at Sikkema Jenkins & CoClean Lines from Terry Haggerty on the walls of Sikkema Jenkins & CoArtist Mark Kostabi viewing the sculpture of Arlene ShechetArt night and there is GPS on my phone – Got Phenomenal StuffArlene Shechet Sculpture at Sikkema Jenkins & CoThe Artwork fits in nicely with the ART crowdHigh Art because of the pedestals

Oscar A. Laluyan is a critic, curator and an art writer for several online publications, . He has worked in a museum and at an art gallery founded by a former architect of Richard Meier's firm. His passion for contemporary art is reflected and directed to seeing the future.